


Abstraction

by RoseAmaranth



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Amnesia, Angst, Bats the Dog, Chaptered, Complete, Doctor Strange New Suit Mentioned, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Guardians of the Galaxy - Freeform, Happy Ending, Idiots in Love, M/M, Marvel Comics - Freeform, Memory Alteration, Minor Original Character(s), Multiverse, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Protective Tony Stark, Sanctum Sanctorum (Marvel), Sorcerer Supreme Stephen Strange, Stephen Strange & Wong Friendship, Tony Stark Doesn't Trust Magic, Tony-centric, Veterinarian Stephen Strange, Wong & Tony Stark Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-05-12 18:32:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19234762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseAmaranth/pseuds/RoseAmaranth
Summary: Abstraction: the act of taking away or separating; withdrawal; secret removal, especially theftStephen has lost his recent memories. Tony, through sheer luck, stumbles upon him working in a veterinarian's office, of all places, having no idea who Tony is, that he often helps the now-famous Avengers, or that he was a powerful sorcerer- the most powerful, in fact.(Typical amnesia fic with a twist.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Been working on this one forever and now I can FINALLY post it! I hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it! Not every story is as fun to write as this one has been. I'm sad to be finished with it, as weird as that may be.
> 
> Also, I have been reading Doctor Strange comics a lot lately, so some elements of those story arcs may find their way into my writing. For example, Tony finds Stephen working as a veterinarian in this story. Stephen being a vet actually happens in one comic book story arc. Stephen loses his Sorcerer Supreme title to Loki and goes to work in an animal clinic.
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading. :)

“ _Stephen_?!” He blinked three more times just to make sure he wasn't imagining the wizard in a lab coat (and admittedly, that was a pretty great sight) handing a kitten to a young boy with wide blue eyes. The wizard turned to him, head tilted in question.

“May I help you?” Tony stumbled. What the...?

“What are you doing here? Why haven't you returned my calls?” Stephen scratched his chin, watching him openly but his eyes failed to flicker in recognition. In fact, he seemed confused by his words. Tony's stomach clenched.

“Usually the receptionist takes care of my clients. I apologize if she hasn't gotten back to you.” Tony stared at him for a long moment, then quietly asked to speak to him privately. The wizard obliged after only a moment of hesitation.

“I do apologize for the inconvenience, sir. I hope you understand that we are still a small practice. Sometimes things don't work correctly.” Tony waved off his weird ass apology and crossed his arms.

“Stephen, do you recognize me?” He couldn't help the way his voice came out too small, too afraid, but that didn't seem to register with Stephen, who only examined him for a few minutes. Tony's body lit up like a matchstick under all this attention he was getting, but it hurt all the same because there was nothing behind it. This was not going to be easy if what he thought was going on, was going on.

“Vaguely. I think I've seen you on the television in the break room. At home.” Tony felt his heart crack a little. He'd been so close to finally asking out the doctor wizard who saved his life numerous times and managed to steal his heart, as corny and cliché as that was to admit. The man he cared too much for was now virtually a stranger.

“Tony Stark! That's it. Wow. It's a pleasure to meet someone so brilliant such as yourself. You've done wonders for the medical field, and your work in clean energy is truly something spectacular.” Stephen offered his hand, the tremors still present and filling Tony with a mix of relief and panic. He wondered if the good doctor knew why his hands were that way, or if he lost the memory of the car accident. Truthfully, it would be an act of mercy if he somehow did. Tony knew how awful that was for Stephen to deal with.

Back in the present, Tony could barely get himself to shake hands with the now veterinarian, too heavy with loss to worry about hurting the wizard's feelings, but his mother instilled good manners in him. They shook hands purely because it was a reflex for Tony at this point in his life.

“Stephen, listen. Whatever this is,” He gestured to his outfit and the office around them. “-it isn't you.” Stephen pulled back slowly, beautiful blue eyes icing over. Damn it, Stark. He couldn't help it, though; he was hurting and slowly becoming desperate. Panic was creeping over him, threatening to choke him.

“Oh? Do tell me how you know that, Mister Stark? And please, call me Doctor Strange.” Tony felt the cracks branching out through his chest and threatening to shatter him. It hurt to see a man he loved....well, not remember him at all. The moments they'd had, moments he'd hoped they could talk about and laugh over once he'd finally persuaded the doctor to go on a date with him, vanished along with Stephen's memories.

Somehow, Stephen's memories were no more.

“I'm sorry, Doctor. It's just you reminded me of someone I knew. I apologize for that. Please.” His scrambled together apology seemed to work. Stephen watched him, Tony feeling he was about to be cast out in a portal, but then Stephen relented. He even smiled, Tony's heart fluttering despite the damage.

“Understandable. Now, back to the matter at hand. You mentioned you have been trying to call. What seems to be the problem?” Crap. Tony knew this Stephen knew nothing of his place with the Avengers if he didn't even recognize Tony beyond a TV celebrity. And the fact he didn't answer his phone for Tony was a bad sign. How could he explain why he was calling? Tony didn't have _pets_.

“Um, my dog- well, my friend's dog that I was watching became really ill. Throwing up all the time, but I found an emergency clinic near my place and he's fine.” Stephen's eyes shone with relief. Even without his memories, Stephen was still the wonderful caring man Tony admired. Who Tony really wanted to date the crap out of, by the way.

“I'm glad he's fine. If you want, you can bring him in for a checkup. Free of charge since we are in the wrong here.” Stephen offered a business card to Tony, their fingers brushing as Tony took the card absently, watching Stephen's face.

Nothing.

“Right. Okay, I'll hit you up.” He examined the card, not recognizing the number. “This is your cell, correct?” Stephen nodded, pulling the device out of his pocket. Not a Stark-Tech phone like the one he'd been gifted by Tony a few months ago for his birthday. His chest tightened.

“Good day, Mister Stark.” Tony shook his head, unable to handle Stephen, wonderful sexy Stephen, calling him _Mister Stark_ again. Not after the friendship and the thoughts he had in the privacy of his own room. Well, maybe in bed 'Mister Stark' could make a reappearance, but certainly not now.

“Please. Call me Tony. I'll be in touch. About the dog. Bye.” He wouldn't, couldn't, have this Stephen calling him 'Anthony' (and didn't the memory alone just give him chills), not when the familiarity was gone. Stephen only smiled and nodded, seeing him out the door (without the usual hand at the small of his back, a gesture he wouldn't be able to ask him about now).

Back outside, he unlocked his phone and dialed. It rang twice before the gruff voice answered. Tony paced along the sidewalk, Happy trying to get him into the car each time he passed. Tony dodged him a third time and glanced back in the little office building. Stephen was chatting with the front desk woman, something green spreading through his chest as he watched the easy smile, _his_ easy smile, appear for the receptionist who was apparently no good at her job.

“ _Stark_.” He blinked away the horrible image and turned away.

“Wong. Hi. I found our lost wizard.” He heard Wong sigh in relief. Oh, just wait.

“Good. Is he okay? Why hasn't he come back if he's still on Earth?” Tony waited a beat, trying to calm himself down to deliver the news.

“Well, funny thing, Beyonce.” Wong grumbled, probably something rude about him and Stephen. “Our wonderfully heroic friend won't be coming home for dinner. Or really ever at all from the looks of things.” That gained him silence, long and heavy.

“Well, why not? Stop playing games.” He chewed on his lip, glancing back through the window.

“He's working in an animal clinic not far from Stark Towers. Dressed in a lab coat and everything, Wong.” 

“Okay, I don't need to hear how happy that makes you or how you'll fantasize about that for months. Why won't he come back?” Tony dropped the charades and sighed.

“He doesn't remember anything. Nothing about me, the Avengers; it's hard to say if he knows he's a wizard or not, or if he knows about his hands. How could this happen? I mean, just a couple days ago he was in Stark Towers giving a presentation to the new magic recruits and now he's here? Playing Doctor Dolittle? It makes no sense!” Wong cut off his rant, allowing Tony to catch his breath before he passed out.

“Are you _certain_ he didn't recognize you?” Fear began saturating his blood as he wondered how Stephen's memories were just...gone.

“I'm no expert here, Wong, but he himself told me he vaguely, _vaguely_ recognized me from the television! Like we haven't saved the world together. He knew my name, after a minute, but there was nothing more than professional friendliness and the usual admiration I get from professionals. He didn't _know_ who I was, Wong! What are we going to do?” There was a shorter beat of silence, fear and panic mingling until he was sure he was going to have an attack right on the sidewalk.

At least he knew a doctor was nearby.

“Come to the sanctum, Stark. And quickly.”

 

Normally, Tony went through a portal to get to the Sanctum Sanctorum, so finding it with the car and Happy was a tedious affair that took far too long. He nearly broke the door off the vehicle as he hurried towards the stairs leading to the ordinate double doors of the building. It granted him entrance, his stomach swooping as magic landed him in the same room as Wong, who was studying a few different books.

“Stark, was there anything else off about Strange? Different hair? No hand tremors?” Tony shook his head.

“The only really odd thing other than the whole 'my life's work is sticking thermometers up the cat's butts' thing he's got going on was that his phone was different.” Wong snapped his head up to stare at him.

“What do you mean? What about his phone?” Tony began pacing again.

“For his birthday, I gave him a Stark-Tech phone to replace that old hunk of junk he had before. This phone was different. A slide phone, really nice, but not the phone I gave him. It at least explains why he's not answering anyone.” He dropped into a chair, the adrenaline seeping out of him. Stephen was gone, any trace of Tony and the life of that arrogant universe-saving wizard he'd fallen for scrubbed away.

“That's very interesting. See, if he somehow accidentally had his memory wiped, or had some issue with the Time Stone, he would still have his old things. He just wouldn't understand what any of it was. More than likely, he would have reverted back to who he was at the time the memories stop. But he hasn't. He's seemingly lost a specific chunk of time; his life as a sorcerer. The fact that he has a different phone now tells me someone did this to him. I'll need to do more research.” Tony finally met his eyes.

“What should _I_ do?” Wong sighed, sympathy and pity obvious in his face.

“Go get some rest. I'll let you know if I find out anything.” No _way_ was this... _librarian_...benching him! Tony Stark did not get benched; especially when his wizard was in trouble.

“Don't you think for a second I'm going to sit on the sidelines like I'm some useless idiot. I can't relax knowing he's out there, so close, and not where he belongs.” Wong shook his head, dropping a heavy hand on Tony's shoulder.

“I know this is difficult, Tony. But you need to rest. You're upset and not thinking clearly.” Tony jerked away, narrowing his eyes and standing his ground.

“How could you possibly understand? It's like my heart was ripped straight from my chest and thrown on the ground. By _him_ of all people. I can't rest. I won't.” Wong actually smiled.

“Tony, what would he want you to do right now?” Tony went to snap that Stephen would just sigh at him and let him do whatever the hell he wanted, but Wong held up a hand. “Certainly he'd want you to rest up. Then you can come at it with a clear mind. Look, I'm not saying you can't help. Not at all; in fact, I think you're one of the best for the job. But you need to rest, And you can either do it voluntarily, or I can make you.” Relieved that Wong wasn't saying he couldn't help at all, he relented and made his way to the staircase that led up to the sanctum sleeping areas. The guest wing was to the right, but Tony went left, following the hallway until he found Stephen's.

“Only for an hour. Two at the most. We have to get started on this as soon as possible.” He pushed into the room, smiling when he found the cape floating back and forth as if pacing the room and waiting for its master to come home.

“Hey, Cloakie. I promise we'll bring him home soon.” The cloak seemed to understand, dropping onto his shoulders and almost hugging him in a way. He sighed at the familiar scent clinging to the fabric: mint, tea, some delightful incense, and a tantalizing musk.

“Wake me in an hour, okay? Operation _Bring-Home-The-Lost-Sexy-Wizard_ commences!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wong has a plan.

When he woke, the sun was long past set and he felt rejuvenated, albeit annoyed he'd slept so long. The familiar scent of Stephen and the warmth of his bed covers lulled him into one of the more fitful naps he'd had in a long time- maybe years. He was so comfortable, in fact, he didn't even want to leave the bed. Only the memory of Stephen looking at him but not recognizing him was enough to roll him out of bed and have him stumbling around the room, dancing into Stephen's housecoat before making his way down the long hallways He found Wong - and the cloak – in the library, though Wong appeared to be sleeping.

The cloak fluttered over to him and settled on his shoulders. He petted it as he moved further into the room, examining the books Wong had spread across the desk and stacked on the floor. Books about memory, time, collective spell volumes, and a few on enchanted objects. Tony had no clue what Wong already knew, but he was itching to do something. If there was one thing Tony was excellent at, it was learning something new. And in this case, he had plenty of motivation.

“Stark?” The bleary voice jerked Tony from the pages, blinking his eyes a few times until they focused correctly on Wong, who was studying him. Tony set the book down and nodded to Wong.

“Hey. While you were cat-napping, I decided to read a few books. I think I'm mostly caught up, but we should still talk. Also, I picked a few other books out I thought might be helpful.” Wong stood, grunting a little while rubbing his back, and joined Tony in looking through the books.

“From what I could find, there are two possibilities; either Stephen had a memory wipe spell cast on him on one of his expeditions, or he had this device called the Palm of Forgetfulness used on him. It can wipe out your short-term memory. If a powerful or knowledgeable sorcerer wields it, I gather they can remove any amount of time they want. Whoever did this to Stephen wanted him out of the way.” Tony snorted.

“I'd say he's definitely far out of the way. So, great, then you know how to undo the voodoo, right?” Wong hesitated, Tony could see it, and it had him worried all over again.

“Well, that would depend on what exactly happened to him. If it was a spell, there are a few different ways to help him recover the lost memories because they aren't _really_ lost; just covered.” He sighed. “But if it was that device, I fear there isn't a way to reverse it. I would need to study it further. I know Stephen was working on figuring it out himself after he found it in one of the rooms in the sanctum.” Tony rolled his eyes. Of course Stephen was messing with something so dangerous.

“Could he have done it himself?” Wong shrugged.

“Well, we certainly can't rule it out, though with the evidence I'd say it was done to him on purpose. But, Stephen has done plenty of things like that before, and it would be easy to manipulate him if he had." He grunted as he turned a page in a book. "I honestly don't know how he's alive or why he was chosen as Sorcerer Supreme. Anyway, I need to go see him so I can assess him with magic.” Tony scratched his chin.

“Do you happen to have a dog lying around here?”

 

“So, this is the pooch? He's adorable. Excuse me- handsome.” Tony grabbed the examination table tightly, trying to offer a smile that wasn't obviously pained, and nodded along to what Stephen was saying. The vet ran gentle hands over the dog they brought in, cooing to him in a soft voice that had Tony both fonding and on the verge of tears.

“Yep. He's my friend's dog.” He gestured to Wong, who was watching Stephen closely. The vet nodded to the sorcerer and went back to examining the dog. He was neither Tony's nor Wong's dog but was actually borrowed off of Peter Parker, who begged to come see Stephen too. The kid had taken to Stephen nearly instantly when they met, asking a million questions about the man and his magic, but Tony didn't think it was a good idea bringing him in when Tony and Wong were trying to observe him. 

Plus, it would hurt Peter to find that Stephen didn't even know who he himself was, not to mention he'd have no idea who Peter was.

“What's his name?” Tony couldn't remember for the life of him what the dog's name was, so he scrambled to come up with something.

“Parker.” Wong rolled his eyes, but Stephen thankfully only nodded. 

“Interesting name. Okay, Parker, let's get you on the scale and then you can head home.” Tony watched as they disappeared through a wood door, then turned to see what Wong was thinking.

“Well?” 

“It's the most peculiar thing, talking with someone who should know you but doesn't." He waved his hand around the air. "As for what caused that, I'm afraid that is still inconclusive. I'll need to bring him to the sanctum for a thorough exam.” Tony nibbled on his nails, an old habit he had back in college.

“I'm sure that will go well. 'Hey, doc, would you mind us kidnapping you and dragging you to our magic palace so we can probe your memory with magic?' He'll be jumping for joy.” Wong sighed.

“It will be all the more difficult because Stephen didn't believe magic actually existed back before he was a sorcerer. He probably won't now.” Tony blinked.

“Wait, if he didn't believe in the magic, how did he come to use it?” Wong chuckled.

“He's a stubborn man, as you know. It took much convincing before he realized it was in fact very real. We need to figure out how to get him to leave with us.” Stephen came back in the room, smiling broadly at them before handing the dog leash back over to Tony. 

“He's healthy as can be, guys.” Wong looked between them, something like a plan-hatching look in his eyes.

“Thank you, Doctor Strange. I'm glad he's healthy.” 

When they were outside, Tony called Peter to retrieve his pet. While they waited, Wong finally explained his plan, and Tony did not like it.

“What makes you think _this_ Stephen will want to go on a date with me? Our Stephen didn't.” Wong rolled his eyes again as if Tony was being purposefully dense. Which he _wasn't_.

“First of all, he does. So if and when we get him back, please ask him out. Secondly, I saw the way he was looking at you in there. I can't believe even with you wiped from his memory, he's still so Stephen. He's definitely interested in you, so go back in there and ask him out. It doesn't even have to be for a date if you aren't comfortable with that; say it's just a friendly cup of coffee and then bring him to the Sanctum.” Tony groaned. He, of course, wanted to ask Stephen out, have a date, but not when all the man knew about him was what he saw on the TV and heard in the news.

“I don't know, Wong. That's asking a lot. You know how I feel about him.” Wong sighed, meeting his eyes.

“I know, but it's our best chance at bringing him back.”

“Okay. I'll do it.” Wong smiled.

“Try not to enjoy it too much, Stark.” No one could blame him for flipping the sorcerer's apprentice off. (Okay, that was a little harsh considering how many times Wong saved Stephen, but it was funny.)

He pushed back inside, channeling as much charm and confidence as he could manage. He prayed he didn't screw it up somehow as he sauntered up to the counter, the receptionist seemingly starstruck by his appearance. She fluttered her lashes up at him and tried to straighten her clothes without him noticing. Unfortunately for her, Tony noticed everything.

“It's so cool having a real-life celebrity in our office. Stephen is so lucky.” Tony smiled lazily, letting a touch of arrogance ooze out.

“If he comes back out here he'll get a little luckier.” Her cheeks reddened and she hurried to hopefully find Stephen. She returned, dragging the poor doctor behind her and talking a mile a minute.

“Okay. Okay. Calm down. I'm here. Hello, Tony. What did you need?” Though he was calm and collected, his eyes gave away his thoughts and feelings, as they always did. Tony just didn't necessarily trust whatever it was he would see there. 

“Oh, _hey_ Stephen. I just wanted to thank you again for helping my friend's dog.” Stephen shrugged as if it was no big thing.

“It's what I do. I love animals. And sometimes they happen to come with interesting people at the end of their leash.” Tony felt a blush curl across his cheeks at the sparkle in Stephen's eyes. Oh how he missed the wizard.

“So noble of you, Stephen. I think Parker was quite charmed with your bedside manner. He speaks highly of you.” Stephen laughed and leaned against the wall, and even Tony could see it now. His heart fluttered.

“I tend to have that effect on animals. People too, sometimes. If I'm lucky enough.” Tony leaned further on the desk, his smile turned up a notch. It was his specialty- getting people to fall for his charm. And really, it was effortless with Stephen. Almost natural. 

“Well, I can definitely say Parker is a big fan. The human on the end of his leash might be too, but you'd have to ask Parker.” Stephen narrowed his eyes, glancing out the door and back at Tony.

“Well, Parker's not here right now, so I'll have to ask you.” Tony smirked, watching Stephen's eyes as they sized each other up. This was going far better than he expected. If only it was that easy with sorcerer Stephen.

“I'd say he most definitely wants to take you out for coffee and doughnuts. That is, if you've got a moment?” Stephen flicked his wrist to examine his watch, smiling after he read the time on there.

“Give me two minutes and I'll be ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: The mentioned 'Palm of Forgetfulness' is in the newer Doctor Strange comics (2018 I believe). He uses it to wipe a friend's memory after having to betray them. Not a great moment for Stephen, but it intrigued me and found its way into my fic. :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flirting, magic, and a revelation.

The coffee shop was close to the sanctum, which meant it was kind of far from the office Stephen worked in, but apparently the former-wizard (for now, Tony prayed) didn't mind. He was hilarious, open, and lacking all the broodiness Stephen often carried with him. It was a whole new side to Stephen Tony never knew, and it was just weird. Stephen was cracking jokes and snarking as easily as breathing. He never knew Stephen could be so...pleasant.

Not that he didn't love his Stephen, but this was so different. 

“I thought for sure your friend was going to be the one coming. I'm a bit disappointed.” Tony panicked for a second, only to see the humor glowing in those wonderful eyes of his. He kicked him gently under the table, perhaps letting his foot rest there longer than needed. Hey, it wasn't hurting anyone.

“I'm sure I can change your mind. I've been told I'm far more amusing than my friend. Plus, I _know_ I'm better looking.” Stephen scanned him, leaning back to openly check him out, then shrugged.

“Maybe in the conventional way, but there's something about bald men that just...makes you want to kiss them right on the dome.” Tony spluttered on his drink, laughing so hard people glared at him. It was hard to imagine stiff-as-a-board Wong putting up with Stephen kissing him on the head, and it was even harder to imagine Stephen doing such a thing. He was so straitlaced and never played around. He took everything in life so damn seriously. 

“I can agree to that, though I do think hair has some value. I mean, what would you have to run your fingers through? To grip tightly in a heat of passion? Or, in my line of work, frustration.” Stephen's eyes darkened, settling on the loose thick hair Tony was sporting. For once he didn't style it and it was paying off. Stephen ran a hand through his own, drawing Tony's attention.

“You make a great point, Tony. You've officially won me over to the 'hair' side. Congratulations.” He polished off another doughnut and dusted his hands off. Tony finished his coffee and sighed. This was nice, even if Stephen was having to learn about him all over.

“You know what's always nice after doughnuts and coffee?” Stephen checked his watch.

“Working five more hours before heading home?” Tony chuckled, reaching out to tentatively brush his fingers along Stephen's scarred hand. A hand he wasn't hiding for once. He often wondered why Stephen did that, and he hoped he'd get to ask.

“A nice walk. Come on. You have a few minutes, right?” 

The sanctum towered over them, Stephen whistling as he took it in. In all honesty, it was a pretty impressive building; he was just usually too excited to talk to Stephen to really notice. He told Stephen on the way over he knew this really cool place and that he wanted to show him. Hopefully, Wong had a plan on what they would do once they got Stephen inside.

“Well, you coming? Don't tell me you're scared.” Stephen snorted, giving him a withering look. Tony missed that too.

“As if. It's just- Well, it's the weirdest feeling. This place _feels_ familiar.” Tony perked up at that. Some part of Stephen recognized the building, the magic inside, and clearly the building recognized him. He never understood the magic energy the lived within the building, but it apparently liked him (according to Wong). 

“That's weird. Maybe you've driven by it before?” Stephen shook his head, studying the giant window with narrowed eyes and a frown.

“No. It doesn't look familiar. At all. It's a feeling. Inside. That sounded stupid. Lead the way, little metal man.” Tony's heart stopped in his chest and he stared up at Stephen's amused face. Then the face became worried, but he couldn't stop staring.

That nickname. Stephen called him that once when they were sitting in the library, Tony complaining about how boring Stephen's life was and Stephen ignoring him in favor of studying. As you do.

“Are you okay, Tony?” He shook off the shock and coughed.

“Sorry. I just- I haven't been called that in a while. It threw me off.” Stephen studied him a moment.

“By the person I remind you of, correct?” Gosh, he was so smart. Too smart. He was going to figure it out.

“Um, yeah. Sorry. Come on. I think you'll be pleased by what you see.” Stephen glanced at his watch, worry creasing his forehead.

“Well, okay. But we need to hurry. The office is far from here.” Tony led them in, thankful the building didn't zap them in like it usually did. It occurred to him then that it might have actually been Stephen doing that. Whatever. Wong stood in the foyer as if expecting them, which, yeah, he was because Tony texted him that the plan worked.

“Welcome.” Stephen laughed and nudged Tony's shoulder. Wong's face was absolutely priceless at this carefree and funny Stephen.

“This is too funny. You look like you live in a monastery. Is this your place then?” Wong nodded sagely, beckoning them to follow him. Tony started nibbling on his nails again, blushing when Stephen caught him.

“You can look around if you'd like, but please don't touch anything.” Stephen stepped into the first room they came to, which happened to be the sitting room. Tony wondered if, while he was perusing, Wong would hit him with a sleeping spell or something. He caught Wong's eye and raised a brow in silent question. The sorcerer held up a hand, the universal sign of 'wait'.

Tony hated waiting when they were so close. He crossed over to where Wong stood, silent until Stephen was further away before speaking.

“He said the place felt familiar. That's a good sign, right?” Wong watched the former-sorcerer study something, carefully keeping his hands far from whatever it was.

“I'd say so, though it's nothing to get excited over. He seems at home here even though, in his mind, he's never been here before. The body often remembers things the mind does not. Magic is powerful. The Sanctum recognizes his energy, and his body recognizes the magical energy.” They both watched as Stephen went to touch a book, then looked over to where they stood and gestured towards the massive book.

“The books are safe, though you may not be able to read them. They are quite old and written in languages long forgotten.” Stephen smiled and opened the book, brows instantly furrowing at whatever it was he was reading. Tony was so happy for Google translate.

“So, how do you plan on examining him?” Wong drew them a step back, keeping an eye on the curious vet a few feet away.

“As you might have guessed, there are spells that can put him into a trance so that I can fully examine him without him freaking out or leaving before I can figure out what is wrong. But I figured I could let him look around, see if being home helps anything.” Tony sighed, wishing it were a fairy tale and one look at him would have broken the spell. I was a lot easier than watching him poke around his own home as if a stranger.

“How are you, Stephen?” He carefully approached the doctor, not wanting to startle him out of whatever he was reading.

“Hmm? Oh, good. Interesting stuff here. A bit...hard to believe, but it's interesting all the same.” He nudged Tony. “Us men of science in a place proclaiming to be magic. Crazy, isn't it?” Tony swallowed around the lump in his throat and chuckled. Oh if he knew...

“Come. The next room is the kitchen. You may have eaten, but I'm famished.” They followed Wong into the kitchen. It was a cozy little room, Tony's coffee pot shining on the counter and making him smile. He loved seeing his things where Stephen lived, even if it was only because Stephen was sick of having to portal him to coffee shops all the time. 

Wong brewed three cups of tea, and Tony caught him doing something to the cup he placed in front of Stephen a few seconds later. The man smiled thankfully and sipped at the tea. He sighed.

“Coffee is always wonderful, but nothing soothes like a cup of tea.” Tony sipped on his drink, wrinkling his nose at it. They always had lively debates on whether tea or coffee was the superior beverage. It was obviously coffee as Tony had converted Stephen to the coffee-drinker side, while Tony only drank tea with Stephen, and only because it made the wizard smile smugly.

He actually hated it.

After a few minutes, Stephen fell asleep, snoring quietly. Wong lifted him with the help of the cloak and some magic, and they all went into another room with a far more comfortable chair. Wong laid Stephen on the floor and performed a few hand movements before touching his fingers to Stephen's temples. Tony held his breath, waiting for what seemed like hours for Wong to finally blink open his eyes and sit back. 

He didn't like the look there.

“What? What is it, Wong?” He asked Tony to carry Stephen behind him and hurried out of the room. Stephen was awkward due to his height and surprisingly heavy, but the cloak helped greatly in them being able to scramble after Wong. He was in the library, reading something. They settled Stephen into a chair, the cloak wrapping around him, and Tony approached Wong.

“It was a spell. His memories are still there. I can't get to them, but I can find a reversal spell to undo whatever happened to him.” He paused, glancing up at Tony. “The problem is, whoever did this did it for a reason. Which means they could come after Stephen again.” 

“But the spell will bring him back to normal?” Wong nodded, though worry crept onto his face as he read. “What?” 

“It says there are some side effects of reversing the spell. Nothing major except for there is a small chance it wipes out all of his memory.” He met Tony's eyes. 

“How much of a chance, Wong? I mean, if it's too great, we could always just make do with animal doctor Stephen. He's loads of fun.” Wong rolled his eyes. Yeah, Tony didn't really want that version of Stephen.

“It is a slight chance, but Stephen has beat more slim chances that this. He's something of an enigma. Okay, stand back.” Tony moved beside the door, watching with wide eyes as Wong spoke, waving his hands over Stephen's head. He suddenly wondered if Stephen would remember his brief life as a vet, or if it would be like a dream to him. At least he would know who they were again.

 

Bright purple light faded from the room, everything dim once again. Wong flopped over onto the ground, passed out. Stephen was covered in sweat and his brows were furrowed as if he were having a troubled dream. Tony didn't know what to do, so he went to the book and translated it with his glasses.

According to the text, Stephen needed to be woken up after the spell was cast. It did mention the sorcerer casting the spell could pass out if the original spell cast was strong because it would take more energy to break it. Cool. Good.

“Stephen? Hey, wizard, time to get up now.” He sighed in relief when Stephen frowned and opened his eyes, blinking up at him. 

“Tony? What's going on? Why do I feel like I've been sleeping for twenty years?” He could cry just looking at Stephen. He'd literally been missing for three days, three days as a vet in New York, yet it felt like a lifetime.

“Hey. Easy does it. I'll explain it to you later but you need to rest right now.” Stephen nodded and allowed Tony to help him up. The sorcerer almost keeled over, but Tony was able to hold him up until they could get him in a chair. Once Stephen was seated, Tony asked if he wanted anything.

“That wonderful tea your friend Wong made earlier. It was delicious.” Tony froze. 

“Stephen, do you know where you are right now?” The doctor searched his face, looking confused, but gestured around.

“That magic house Wong apparently lives in. I must have dozed off. Damn, am I late for work? I need to go.” Tony pulled at his hair to make sure this wasn't some insomnia-induced nightmare he was having. Nope. That hurt. It was real.

“I'll, um, drive you back. My car's out front.” In his panic, he forgot that Stephen was terrified of getting into cars. It would cause him to have a panic attack, which is why he often teleported where he needed to go. But this Stephen apparently didn't know about the accident, or maybe he didn't have that anxiety for some reason, because he followed obediently.

It didn't work. Wong's spell didn't work. Stephen was still lost in there, trapped by some psycho's spell.

When he pulled up in front of the office buildings, Stephen tried and failed to undo his seatbelt at least ten times. Tony sighed, reaching over and clicking the button for him. He hadn't noticed Stephen's hands were shaking badly until he waved goodbye.

“Hey. I'll see you around?” Relief washed over Stephen's face, and Tony realized he had been afraid Tony was giving him a brush off. Tony was just so lost with the failed plan; he didn't mean to make Stephen think something was wrong between them. Pushing his emotions down, he smiled up at the vet and winked. Speeding off, he carried with him the image of Stephen Strange blushing at him like a school girl.

It was a nice thought to carry him through the rest of what was going to be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that didn't work.
> 
> *** A Little Behind the Scenes ***  
> When I was originally writing this chapter, the spell was going to work. Stephen was going to be fixed. It's a little difficult to explain why it changed because sometimes the idea you have and the path you take end up being drastically different. The writing process for me is follow the rabbit down the hole wherever he leads, even if it's in the opposite direction you wanted to go. So, yeah, that's a little BTS of how I write.
> 
> Anyway, this story has gone from four short chapters to now around nine now, so that's cool. Fingers crossed Wong and Tony figure out how to help poor Stephen.
> 
> Any guesses as to who did this to him? Motivations? Was it just Stephen being careless with magic, or is it far more sinister? :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who was the one who stole Stephen's memories? You can probably guess. But who drops in to help save the wizard?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long. I have these written out, but I've been busy with a few other works and other writing projects.

Wong and Tony spent months trying to figure out what was going on. Wong called on every sorcerer he knew, having meetings where Tony would sit, hands clasped tightly in his lap, and try to soak in as much magic mumbo jumbo as he could. He read everything he could, researched further into relics or spells, frustratingly throwing numerous things at the wall in his workshop.

In the meantime, he kept up his friendship with Stephen. He decided he couldn't date the handsome vet since it wasn't the Stephen he knew and loved, but they could banter, flirt, and enjoy each other's company still. He had the feeling Stephen wanted to go beyond friendship, especially in the last couple weeks, but he didn't push Tony and it was so much like Stephen he had to bite his cheeks to keep from crying. So, he visited the office often, no longer needing an animal as an excuse to come, and met many adorable furry pets while he chatted with Stephen. 

Despite the no dating rule he'd put on himself, he would bristle in jealousy when anyone so much as smiled at Stephen, which was beyond pathetic and stupid of him. He just missed his Stephen so much, and it was hard seeing someone who was him, but not him, getting that sort of attention. From someone not Tony. Still, he had no claim to the man.

“Tony, I think I've found the problem.” He nearly jumped across the room in his hurry to see what it was. Oh please let there be a cure. A fix. Something to bring him back.

“What? What did we do wrong? Should I have let him sleep? It said to wake him up promptly after the spell was cast. Maybe he needed more time...” Wong stopped him with a look.

“Nothing like that. Stephen's memories are certainly there, I felt them, but like any locked door, only a specific key can open it. I've been working with Master Chen, and he proposed this spell instead. See, we don't know what the spell was exactly, and there are multiple spells out there dealing with memory. Some more complicated than others.” Tony chewed on his bottom lip, trying to read the spell Wong was studying. 

“What if it's still not right? Maybe we should track down whoever did this to him. I mean, how many people are there that it could be?” Wong sighed.

“Actually, there are a significant number of beings it could be. Stephen hasn't made many friends, being the new Sorcerer Supreme and all. But I could possibly narrow it down.” Tony paced the room, trying to think of anything he could offer that was helpful. Stephen came to a meeting two days before he disappeared, and there was that lecture...

He felt so useless. 

“I wish there was more I could do. I was hoping the first spell would be enough.” Wong settled a hand on Tony's shoulder, that look of pity back in full force. Tony pulled away from it, wrapping Stephen's housecoat around himself tighter.

“We'll get him back, Tony. He's still there. We just need the right key.”

 

A week later and FRIDAY alerted him to some suspicious activity around the Sanctum. He pulled up the street cameras and studied the dark figure skulking around it. Since it was dark outside, he couldn't get a look at his face, but when he slipped past one of the street lights, he was able to pause it and get a look at what he was wearing.

Robes. Ones similar to the ones Stephen wore, though they didn't appear to be blue. Maybe black or green. He called his iron man suit and, with the video downloaded to the suit, hurried over to the Sanctum. The man, of course, was long gone by the time Tony got there, so he hurried through the double doors, only to stop dead in his tracks. Wong was there, glaring at the man dressed in green robes. The man from the footage.

“Let him go, asshole.” He was back in the suit in a second, aiming one of the repulsion beams at him. The guy only laughed, looking back at Wong and smirking.

“This is too fun. Really. I was always a big Iron Man fan. But I don't have time for this right now, so if you'll excuse me.” He waved his hand, magical ropes tying his suit up. Damn, he should have pushed Stephen to help him make that magic-repellent suit he was currently planning. The mysterious sorcerer sighed and spun around in a full circle, seemingly enjoying himself.

“I didn't think it would be this easy. Stephen promised he had powerful backup, but look; I took out his mentor and lover in less than five minutes.” Tony felt his cheeks catch fire, but he didn't have time to worry about that. He had FRIDAY alert the other Avengers before continuing to struggle against the magic tying him up. His suit was shorting out too, which was a big problem for him in terms of being able to fight. Or escape.

“What? Neither of you are going to ask about my evil plan? Why I needed Stephen out of the picture? Some Sorcerer Supreme he is, by the way. I always thought the Ancient One was a little foolish in allowing him to become a sorcerer, let alone revealing he was the next Sorcerer Supreme, but it doesn't matter because now he's nothing more than a silly little doctor.” Tony retracted his faceplate just to glare at the man, who only grinned at him.

“Ah, the face of a lover scorned. You know, of all the people I would have expected him to end up with, I never did think it would be you. I mean, I guess you both are alike in some ways, but I figured he would be too busy to be able to juggle a relationship with Tony Stark. Not to mention you both can be quite unbearable. Still, I've seen more surprising things happen in my life.” Tony prayed his team hurried the hell up.

“If you're feeling like chatting, maybe you could tell us what you did to Stephen.” The sorcerer only sighed and rolled his eyes.

“How predictable. But fine. Since there's nothing you or Wong can do now, I'll tell you. About five months ago, I came to New York and began tracing his movements. Figuring out his schedule. Things like that. Once I figured him out, I was able to ambush him with a clever little memory-loss spell that takes a chunk of memory and _poofs_ it right out of his head. Then, while he was delirious and vulnerable, I took him to this swanky apartment, told him his whole life story, trashed that hideous Stark Tech phone, and voila! Veterinarian Stephen Strange. Cute, isn't it?” Tony's anger boiled over, an animal-like snarl ripping out of him. The evil wizard only laughed.

“I know you didn't ask, but I'll tell you anyway. You see, ever since I found out the Ancient One had been lying to me for so many years, filling my head with rules she and Stephen broke on a constant basis when it suited them, I realized the problem in the world was that there were too many people like them; selfish liars who didn't deserve the magic they wielded. The world was almost destroyed by rogue disciples of the Ancient One who got hold of one of her sacred books, which further proved to me there were too many undeserving sorcerers out there. I've been able to snuff out many of them and remove their magic, but Stephen was catching up to me. Figuring it out. So, like any smart person would do, I removed him from the fight.” Wong finally stirred, struggling against the energy restraints.

“What gives you the right to determine who can have magic and who can't, Mordo? This is unacceptable!” Mordo turned and smiled at Wong.

“Oh, you foolish man. I am the only one worthy of being a sorcerer. Well, and maybe you. We are men of the book, you and I. Tell me you aren't sick of Stephen just doing what he wants, whenever he wants, simply because he can? You've tried to instill rules in him, yet he's broken them time and time again.” Tony grunted.

“He saved the world- the universe – because he ignored those rules. There must be an exception in this stupid rule book of yours.” Mordo chuckled.

“Magic isn't like your technology, Stark. The rules are there to protect us; to protect our world. Do you know how many times your precious Stephen has put the world and himself in jeopardy because he didn't understand the importance of the rules? When he first came to Kamar-Taj, he manipulated time with the Eye of Agamotto and nearly caused catastrophic damage. He's careless and irresponsible with magic. He's the worst one out there, and since I couldn't remove his magic, I had to take away the memory of what he'd learned.” Finally, _finally_ Steve and the rest of the team ran into the foyer, Wanda and Bruce going for Mordo while Nat and Steve worked on freeing Tony and Wong.

“What the hell is going on here, Stark?” He stood slowly, the blood rushing back through his legs, and shook his head. That guy was off his rocker. One of the reasons why he was so distrustful of magic, and now the very thing that terrified him had taken the one person he actually trusted with it. He barely trusted Wanda, up until Stephen trained her of course.

“Crazy wizard cast a spell on Strange so he could continue zapping other wizards and taking their magic away.” Wong joined them, rubbing his wrists.

“Karl Mordo was a disciple of the Ancient One, much like Kaecilleus and Stephen. He was the one who brought Stephen to Kamar-Taj.” Tony glanced over to where Mordo was fighting against Wanda.

“Well, clearly something's gone wrong with Maleficent because he's trying to kill us and took away Stephen's ability to use magic.” Wong hurried them out of the room and into the library. Steve stood guard by the door, glancing at them every couple of seconds.

“Mordo was shaken deeply when he found out the Ancient One had been lying to him and channeling the Dark Dimension to stay alive for so long. He realized even those he trusted and believed in often used magic against the rules they taught to others. Stephen was the one who figured it out, actually, and then went on to use the Time Stone to defeat the ruler of the Dark Dimension. He was then chosen by the Vishanti to become the new Sorcerer Supreme. After that, Mordo no longer believed in what the Ancient Once had taught him and rejected the ways of Kamar-Taj.” He plucked a book from a large stack and flipped through it quickly.

“Why aren't we out there stopping him?” Wong turned the book around so Tony could see it. It was a memory spell, something that sounded complicated.

“Because, thanks to his wonderful speech, I figured out what spell it was he used. Seeing as Stephen is a Sorcerer Supreme, he needed to use an ancient spell that is quite powerful so that he couldn't eventually fight through it. As I told you, the memories are still there. After enough time, or with the right combination of familiar faces and energies, Stephen would start remembering things and be able to break it.” Tony found the counterspell listed and sighed in relief. 

“Can you do the reversal?” Wong shook his head, slapping the book closed and tucking it into his robe. 

“Not here and not alone. I need to take Stephen to Kamar-Taj. But first, we need to take care of Mordo.” They burst into the room the fighting was taking place in, only to find Bruce (in Hulk form) holding the wizard.

“What happened?” Nat gestured to the door, Quill and his band of heroes standing there assessing their wounds.

“I never thought I would say this, but I'm so glad to see you guys.” Quill smirked.

“Considering we saved your ass again, I would think so. We were alerted by your Captain America that you needed help. Mantis put him out.” Tony spotted the alien girl near the boulder of a man called Drax, laughing at something he said. 

“Well, thanks. If you're still around after we save Strange, burgers on me?” Quill shook his hand and nodded.

“We'll be around. Go save your wizard.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They have to get Stephen to Kamar-Taj. Wong and Tony have a plan.

Finding Stephen when he wasn't at the animal clinic turned out to be harder than they thought. Mordo had told them he was in an apartment, but in New York, that wasn't exactly a rare building. Tony considered breaking into the building and finding his information, but then Nat asked if he had a number to contact Stephen with instead.

Oh, right.

It didn't take long to persuade Stephen into meeting his at his workshop, even so late at night, because Tony knew Stephen's sleeping habits were similar to his own. Meaning, he wasn't able to sleep much. Wong and Tony decided to take the same approach as when they took him to the Sanctum; invite him over and then put him to sleep. Tony just hoped Wong has something really strong up his sleeve because Stephen waking up in some mysterious place surrounded by wizards...

It wouldn't go over well.

To pass some time while they waited for Stephen to arrive, Tony decided to tinker with a few things in his shop. His hands, normally steady as a rock, were trembling so much he had to put the wrench he was holding down and take a breath. He was incredibly nervous, desperately hopeful, and so dying to get this over with so he could kiss that stupid wizard. He turned to where Wong was studying one of his new prototypes and frowned. He didn't usually let people into his shop, save for the select few he trusted the most; like Rhodey and Stephen.

“I've been waiting for this opportunity forever. Don't touch that!” Wong snorted and stepped away from the new suit.

“That suit is...different from the others.” Tony nodded. It was made from a similar material that T'challa made his Black Panther suit from, all black except for a white design that spanned the chest and shot down the front of the suit, tapering off around the crotch. It wasn't actually meant for Tony since he would feel too exposed in the skintight material (he wouldn't trade his heavy armor for anything), but considering the intended recipient was somewhat claustrophobic and required ample range of motion, it was perfect. 

Tony still would have rather made another of his armored metal suits, but he supposed with magic and the cloak, the suit would do.

“Yeah. I'm trying out new designs. Switching things up. Ask Pepper- I'm always improving on the older suits.” Wong nodded, though he didn't actually seem very convinced. Tony wasn't going to let Stephen's best friend know he was designing a special nano-suit for him that would serve better than those heavy billowing robes he always wore in battle. Once he was finished with it, he would gift it to his friend. Probably on his birthday or something.

“Boss, Stephen Strange has asked permission to enter the building.” Tony rolled his eyes.

“FRY, he's allowed in. I've given him total security clearance.” Wong snickered.

“I was only checking, Boss. He'll be down shortly.” He clapped his hands together and drew a deep cleansing breath.

“Thank you, girl. Show him the way, please. He's not himself right now.” Wong flipped through the book again, probably reading over the spells. Tony was so anxious.

Stephen stepped through the sliding glass door, smiling sleepily when he saw Tony sitting in his spinning chair. The amount of smiling and laughing he'd witnessed from Stephen was so jarring and different than the Stephen he was used to, and so late at night, that smile was similar to alcohol in his veins. He swept his gaze around the room, whistling lowly.

“Wow. So, this is Tony Stark's workshop. It's an honor to be here.” Tony wheeled over to the vet, spinning around to look out over his shop. Yeah, it was a mess, but it was his. It was his safe space. And Stephen's awe was making him glow like the sun.

The first time Stephen (with memories) had seen his workshop, he was equally as impressed, but in true Stephen form, he hid it nearly perfectly. Tony was great at reading people, though, so he caught the look and tucked it away for a rainy day.

“Welcome. Feel free to look around. Just don't touch anything.” Stephen glanced down at him and touched a hand to Tony's shoulder before moving forward into the shop. Wong was still in his seat, though now he was watching Stephen make his way through the various projects and messy tables in the shop. Tony scurried after him, pointing out a few different things and trying to explain what he was doing and how he put pieces together, Stephen humming along to what he was saying.

“Ah, Stephen. It's good to see you again.” They both looked over to Wong, who was smiling at Stephen. Okay, Tony was concerned. Wong _and_ Stephen smiling. Was the world going to explode? 

Stephen blinked at Wong for a moment, silence hanging in the air. 

“Oh. Hi, Wong. I didn't, um, think you'd be here.” There was a careful edge to his voice, Tony standing to join the men and watching Stephen's face. He was looking away from Wong now, tracing a trembling finger along Tony's desk. He shot a questioning look over to Wong, who frowned and subtly waved Tony over. He excused himself, nudging Stephen until sharp blue eyes met his and he finally smiled. Albeit reluctantly.

“What?” Wong pulled the book out and flipped it open to the page with the spell.

“Distract him long enough for me to knock him out. Then we'll take him to Kamar-Taj.” Tony nibbled on his pinkie nail, turning to look at Stephen.

“Why do you think he's acting weird? I mean, he seemed to be fine with you before. Do you think he figured out what happened at the Sanctum?” Wong snorted, closing the book and shaking his head.

“Oh, that. I'm surprised you didn't figure it out, with all the rumors about your previous romantic ventures.” Tony narrowed his eyes.

“You can't possibly be naive enough to believe anything on the television.” Wong held up a hand as if to stop the argument he could feel Tony building. Which, yeah, there was. 

“I just mean that I thought you would recognize when someone is..unhappy about a certain situation. He clearly thought it would be just you two here, considering how late it is, and you know this Stephen certainly has feelings for you.” Oh. Tony should have recognized it, really he could have, but he didn't expect Stephen to think of this as a....romantic venture. Or maybe a purely physical one considering the time. Why else would you invite someone over to your place in the middle of the night?

Tony was so focused on the mission, on getting his Stephen back, he didn't even realize what that would look like to someone else. Especially considering he and Stephen did that all the time. Since neither of them slept well, they often would visit each other in the night and have cups of coffee and talk.

“Go over and distract him.” Right. He rejoined Stephen at the table, smiling up at the stony face until it broke.

“Sorry, I was explaining to Wong why he can't keep messing with my projects. He just refuses to heed my warnings.” Stephen nodded, though he didn't seem like he really believed it. Fair enough. Tony boldly reached his hand out and touched Stephen's hand, just letting his fingers brush along the raised scars on the delicate skin. He always wanted to do that, to fold his hand over Stephen's, but unlike the Stephen before him, Tony wasn't sure what that Stephen was feeling about him. 

Their eyes met, Tony swimming in an ocean of emotion, and then the light died out and he slumped forward. Tony's heart ached.

“Come on, Stark. We only have a few hours before he wakes. This spell could take every bit of that.” Together, they hauled Stephen's limp body through the portal into a sunny and hot place. Tony figured it was Kamar-Taj. Robed figures hurried out to meet them, taking Stephen's body (ignoring Tony's surprised protests) and leading them inside. Wong stopped at the door and turned to Tony.

“Wait out here.” 

“No.” Wong stared at him.

“Stark, you don't know what will happen. You need to stay out here where it's safe.” He stubbornly shook his head. How could he let Stephen 'wake up' to a room of people that weren't him? He needed to be one of the first people Stephen saw, one of the first ones Stephen spoke to with his memories back.

“Wong, don't do this right now. You know I need to be there.” The wizard librarian sighed but still didn't back down.

“I can't. If something happened to you because of the magic... I can't allow that. Please. Just stay right here. I promise I'll come get you the second he's better.” Tony tried to charge inside, shoving Wong out of the way, but then the world went black.


	6. Chapter 6

He sat up and looked around, the sun setting and a chill settling in the air. He carefully made his way to his feet and dusted off his pants. It was a dirty trick of Wong to use a sleeping spell on him, but Tony understood why he did it. He knew, deep down, that going in that room would be dangerous for him. He didn't understand magic - didn't know what could happen - but the fierce need to be by Stephen's side had overridden his logic. Remembering what was happening all those hours ago had him anxiously pacing.

Did it work? Was Stephen finally back?

He jumped when someone approached from behind, swearing under his breath at not being more prepared for an attack.

“Easy. Wong said to come find you after the spell was finished.” Tony sighed, his heart pounding and hands clenching as the fresh adrenaline worked through his blood. What would he find when he entered the room? Would wizards be passed out all around, only for Stephen to have lost his memories forever? Would he find Stephen blinking around in confusion, asking _what the hell was going on_ like he usually did?

Would he find everyone dead?

“Come, Mister Stark. They are waiting for you.” He nodded at the bald little man who came to get him and quickly dusted off his clothes again. Stupid Kamar-Taj dirt sticking to his pants like that...

They walked through the temple, passing many curious faces on the way, until they finally reached a door faintly glowing blue. When Tony shot the man a look, he gestured back down the hall they had come through.

“It was a precaution. To keep the lesser experienced yet still curious students from stumbling inside. The spell was very complicated, especially because it was done by someone too inexperienced with such an ancient spell. It's dangerous to play with magic you don't understand.” They pushed into the room, Tony scanning every face he could and trying to figure out what happened. Was it successful? Did they need to do something else? Was someone dead?

“Mister Stark.” He found Wong standing towards the back of the group. The other wizards parted and he joined Tony by the door. He kept looking behind Wong, as if Stephen might appear from nowhere.

“How is he? Please tell me it worked.” Wong sighed, long and heavy, but nodded.

“It seems to have worked. He keeps asking why his clothes are covered in animal hair.” Tony felt a weight fall off of him and relief wash over him. It was such a Stephen thing to say, tears prickled in his eyes and his throat closed over. The world would be better off with their Sorcerer Supreme restored. Not to mention how happy Tony would be once he saw him. Once the recognition flickered in Stephen's eyes again and there was a quip waiting for Tony on the tip of his tongue.

“So, when can we leave? I'm sure he's dying to get back and check on everything. Workaholic that he is.” The other sorcerers slowly filed out looking beyond exhausted. Tony was going to have to send them a gift for their hard work; for helping Stephen. Sure, it was their duty to protect the world and the Sorcerer Supreme, but still. They deserved a 'thank you'.

“It might be best if I brought him back. Alone. Slowly ease him back into everything after the work that's been done on his mind. He may be irritable for a couple of days as well.” Oh. Well, he kind of figured it might be something like that. It didn't mean he liked it, though. Nope. He spent far too many hours - days - waiting for this moment, and he was going to at least _see_ the sorcerer. So, Tony glared at Wong.

“Hey, I was just as much a part of this rescue as you were. Maybe not the magical voodoo things, but I helped fight Mordo and get Stephen where you could even see him. Hell, I _found_ him! I've been waiting _months_ for this, and besides that, what's one more familiar face? Especially the face of his favorite billionaire.” A noise startled them both, turning to find Stephen standing against the wall, one arm braced as if he was struggling to stand straight and his hand rubbing his temples. His head was lowered; his hair hanging loosely. 

He couldn't even see Stephen's face and his heart was still singing.

“Wong...” He sounded like he swallowed sandpaper, but it was still _his_ beautiful voice. It was still ringing with the correct familiarity and was its normal dour tone. Wong hurried to his side and assisted him in taking a seat. Tony, meanwhile, cautiously moved to sit in a chair as far away from Stephen as he could, not wanting to crowd the man. Like Wong was going on about before, he spent four months living another life. Memory or not of that time, it had to be difficult on him.

“You need to take it easy, Strange. I told you not to get up yet.” Stephen waved off his concern, manifesting a cup of something (probably tea) and raising it to his lips with trembling hands. Okay, yeah. He was definitely back. Tony could jump on the table and happy dance. Sing a song. Do a _cartwheel_. (And at his age, it was probably a terrible idea to do that last one, but the joy bubbling in his chest didn't seem to care. And, well, neither did Tony.)

“When do we get back?” Wong joined Stephen, calling for a cup of his own. Tony felt like he was some third-party observer over a contract signing. A witness. 

“Not for a while yet, Strange. I have a few more things to take care of. And let's not forget you've been subjected to a significant amount of magic energy. The human body can only take so much at one time, so you need to rest.” Stephen, naturally, shook his head.

“The world is always in danger, Wong. I don't have time to relax.” Tony chuckled, two pairs of eyes jerking to look at him. Oh.

“Tony _Stark_? What are you doing here?” The question wasn't particularly rude or hurtful, his tone filled with confusion and his brows furrowed, but it pierced Tony's chest all the same. His eyes were searching Tony's face as if hoping the answer might be there, interest clear in the beautiful blue eyes Tony often thought about. Eyes he often found himself falling into whenever he was working with Stephen in the shop or the Sanctum. It was clear he didn't recognize Tony the way he should, and a look at Wong confirmed something was still wrong. They were best friends, but apparently Stephen didn't know that. 

“Um, I helped get you here. And then I decided to stick around. I wanted to see if it worked. The, uh, the memory spell.” He glanced over at Wong again, eyes narrowed and silently demanding an explanation. Now wonder Wong was trying to run him off earlier.

“Oh, well, that was nice of you. The Avengers are certainly a nosy bunch, but I supposed I expected that. Thank you for your help.” Stephen stood slowly and excused himself, leaving the two men at the table. Tony couldn't stop staring after where he disappeared, his brain running around trying to understand what happened. Why the spell brought back his magic and not his memories of Tony.

“Wong? What the hell? He still doesn't know who I am?!” Wong held up a hand and joined him on the other side of the table. Tony rubbed his temples and tried to force himself to calm down. It would be okay. Stephen was at least back to being an obnoxious wizard again. He could work with that.

He had the first time.

“We haven't uncovered all the lost memories yet. We had a priority to bring back his sorcerer's training. He also doesn't know he's Sorcerer Supreme as that was a recent development.” Right. Just like their friendship. Tony bit his cheek and clenched his fists.

“So, when can you finish the job? I assume we _are_ going to finish the job.” Wong nodded, waving his hand in the air. Like Tony's concerns were annoying flies buzzing around him. Well, excuse him for worrying about his friend!

“Of course, Stark. He needs to know the rest of the story, but right now his memory stops around 2017. A year after he became a master.” Which was also at least a year before he met Tony. Before he helped save the universe from Thanos. Before he became one of Tony's most trusted advisers, an ally to the Avengers, and a close friend. A headache blossomed at the base of his skull.

“Okay. Well. Now what?” Wong sighed, more tea filling the cup he fiddled with on the table. 

“For now, he needs to rest. We'll pick back up in a month and restore the rest of his memory. You, on the other hand, have work I'm sure you need to do.” Wong placed a hand on Tony's arm, eyes sympathetic but stern. “Go home. I'll let you know what happens.” Tony stood from his seat and sent the chair clattering to the floor. Wong was a fool to think Tony would just leave like that. Not after everything. He _loved_ that stubborn wizard, and it would take more than one librarian to keep him away from Stephen. 

“If you think, for one second, that I'm leaving him, you got another thing coming.” Wong stood too, though he seemed far more calm than Tony felt. 

“Tony, listen. Really listen to me, okay? This is a lot for him right now. I understand you are hurt, that you need him back just as much as we all do, but you're only going to make him confused. You're going to make this harder for him. Please, let me handle him. I promise he'll be back soon.” He scrunched his nose. “And then please ask him on a date. I don't want to hear about your eyes anymore.” Though he tried to bite it back, a laugh slipped out.

“Does he remember anything? From the other life? Will all the experiences and memories be together, or are we wiping out anything related to that spell?” Wong sipped his tea, eyes thoughtful.

“Not that he has told me, but they might come back to him later on now that his magic is restored in his memory. Not much is hidden from the Sorcerer Supreme, even if he doesn't remember he's one.” Tony shivered at the thought of an all-powerful Stephen walking around once more. Then dread sank into his stomach. What if he remembered their 'date'? Oh gosh, and the terrible flirting at the clinic? No, he couldn't worry about that. Not until Stephen was fully recovered. 

“I won't stay completely away, but I'll try to reign myself in more. For Stephen. Take good care of him, Wong. And please let me know any developments. I mean anything.” A portal into the tower was opened and, with a last look back at the room Stephen was resting in, he whispered his goodbye and left them behind. It wasn't going to be easy dealing with a Stephen who knew nothing of Thanos or Tony, but for the sorcerer he'd certainly try. He would do _anything_ for Stephen.

-

Wong collapsed into the chair and rubbed his forehead, hoping to scrub the throbbing pain there away. Between Tony and Stephen, he was becoming wrung out. Still, his priority was Stephen, so Tony would have to hold himself up for a while longer. He admired the stubborn need to stand by Stephen, even at the expense of his own company, but Wong knew love could do that. He still wasn't sure he liked the idea of the two most arrogant, sacrificial, idiotic people ever born being together, but he knew for a fact Stephen felt the same way Tony did. 

He crept into the room Stephen was in, spying the sorcerer decidedly not resting like he was supposed to be. It was so good to have him back.

“Wong?” He startled, but of course Stephen knew he was there. Sorcerer Stephen could sense energy.

“Yes, Strange?” He turned to examine Wong, eyes narrowed.

“Mister Stark. He's...” He gestured in the air for a moment, seemingly unable to find a word.

“An Avenger. He heard about the predicament and came to help.” Stephen slowly shook his head, eyes going out of focus.

“No. I mean, I know he's an Avenger. But that's not the whole story. There's something- I can just barely feel it. Like I'm trying to recall something important but it keeps escaping me. When I saw him, I was surprised, but something told me that it was normal for him to be there. That I shouldn't be surprised to find him there, watching me. That Tony being in Kamar-Taj isn't as weir as my brain thinks it is. I feel like I know him better than I remember.” He stood once more, still too unsteady for Wong's liking but stronger than before. “The look in his eyes, Wong. I need my memories back. I need to understand what I'm missing.” Wong shook his head, the throbbing pain increasing. He knew Stephen seeing Tony would be a bad idea. With his memories finally freed from the spell, he was bound to recognize things. He was missing just pieces to the puzzle instead of the whole thing, and he was going to demand help in finding them. Because that's what Stephen did.

And it wasn't often he didn't get his way.

“It's not a good idea. The other sorcerers are exhausted; I'm exhausted. You're in a weakened state. We all need time to recover. I promise you will have them back, but it can't be today.” Stephen turned on him, eyes flashing. Yet, he remained silent.

“Stephen, I know this is difficult-”

“Do you, now?”

“-but you need to trust me.” Stephen snorted roughly.

“Trust is dangerous, Wong.” Naturally, Stephen was hard to gain the trust of. It's what made his relationship with Tony all the more bizarre. They knew each other maybe a week back during the fight with Thanos, yet were far more trusting of each other than people they had known for years. Wong happened to know Stark had trust issues as well, far worse than Stephen's, but he still trusted Stephen to fight alongside him. Trusted him with _magic_ of all things, which was something else Tony had a problem with. 

“I know, but I've yet to steer you wrong, Stephen. For now, rest.” Stephen finally did so, grumbling under his breath as he went. It was good having their sorcerer back. If only that didn't mean having to deal with his abrasive personality and stubbornness.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meetings, threats, and danger. Oh, and Stephen's back!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaaaack! This story is coming along wonderfully now and should be finished soon! Thank you for reading it and being patient with me with these updates!

Tony sighed and tapped his pen against the table, counting the seconds that ticked by as Thaddeus Ross poked his way through another one of his consumer reports. It was tedious and really unnecessary, but according to those stupid accords, Tony and the rest of the Avengers had to hold monthly status report meetings to discuss the public's concerns with how the Avengers fought to defend them.

Steve, naturally, was taking notes and mumbling to himself at the front of the room, no doubt taking every criticism into account. Nat and Clint were whispering to each other while Bruce pretended not to be sleeping. Tony was only kept awake by the fact he could bolt the second Ross stopped speaking.

“And this concludes this month's meeting. I do hope everyone took something away from it. Next month, let's invite our allies.” At the dismissal, Tony shot up out of his seat, only to be stopped by Ross.

“Tony, can I speak to you?” Of course. 

“Can you say it in five minutes or less?” Ross narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. Tony stalked back to his seat, watching the other teammates walk out the door with growing envy. He had a sorcerer to go see!

“Listen, Tony, we've been gracious and allowed you do what you want so long as you followed the accords, but now the supers are getting out of hand again. They follow your lead, so I'm going to need you to get your act together. Or, you could always retire. Put the Iron Man life behind you. And, there is always the third option. I'm sure you don't want _that_.” Tony detected the threat and glared up at the man strangling his team in a chokehold. The accords were only supposed to keep them accountable; not give this man control over their every breath. 

“I sense a threat there, Ross. I suggest you not do that. I could have an army of lawyers on your doorstep with lawsuits. I could take your job from you if I wanted to. Of course, I don't want it. Far too boring. But threatening to take my life away from me because you don't like how Natasha fired her gun or what color my suit is on a given day is absurd. Now, if you excuse me, I have someone to visit.” He stood and turned on his heel.

“That sorcerer, I presume? When were you going to let us know he was out of commission?” He jerked back, both surprised and furious that granddad Ross knew anything about Stephen and his condition. Then again, he should also know better.

“When it was actually a concern of yours. He's only an ally of ours, Ross. He's not under the Accords and therefore, he's none of your business. Besides, I handled it. It's all good. So, if you don't mind..” 

“Then why are you in such a rush to go look in on him? Perhaps there's something wrong that you aren't telling me? Something that would _make_ him my business.” Ross leaned on the table, squinty blue eyes cold as he assessed Tony.

“I'm just more than happy to have any excuse to get away from you. Ciao.” And he bolted from the room before the general could say anything else. Seriously, what was his deal?

Tony stepped into his workshop, frustration crackling over his skin like lightning. He decided to put some final touches on the new suit he was making before he would get ready to drive out to Greenwich. That way, he wouldn't be in a bad mood when he saw Stephen again. Wong finally, after three long months, agreed Tony could come by the Sanctum. Apparently, the sorcerer had to threaten Wong, which was a great sign if Tony ever heard one.

Once he was satisfied with the suit and felt a little more relaxed, he decided it was time to go get ready to leave. Dum-E handed him his shake at the doorway to his shop, and he finished it in the time it took to get up to his room.

“ _Sir, incoming call from Pepper Potts._ ” He tugged his shirt off and tossed it on the bed. He figured a shower and shave wouldn't hurt anyone. If only people stopped getting in the way.

“Patch her through, Fri. I'll be in the shower, so send it there.” He finished undressing and headed for the shower, warm water soothing his tense muscles and putting him in a better mood.

“Tony, we've got a situation.” Well, there went the good mood.

“Can't it wait?” 

“I know you have important plans, but this is going to have to take priority. Someone broke into the storage garage and stole a significant amount of Stark Technology. I haven't pinned down exactly what was taken, but the storage garage is a mess.” Tony shut the water off with a grunt and stepped into the pristine bathroom, wrapping a towel around his waist as he went. Pepper's voice followed.

“Okay. Give me half an hour and I'll be there.” He pulled on a plain black shirt and snug jeans, checking his reflection with a wink before turning to find his lifted boots. The situation did sound like it was kind of important, but it wasn't an _emergency_.

“There's something else. Peter somehow-” He dropped his cologne and stared at his reflection with wide eyes.

“Peter _Parker_? The kid?” FRIDAY opened footage up from the security cameras while Pepper continued speaking, worry edging into her voice.

“He somehow found out about the break-in and went there to stop it. He hasn't been seen since.” Now that was an emergency. Tony rubbed his temples and scowled at himself.

“I'll be there in five.” The call cut off and Tony pulled his own phone out of his pocket, dialing as he hurried to grab his keys and jog down to the garage. 

“This better be good, Stark. I was in the middle of reading about a new spell.” It was good to hear the familiarity back in Stephen's voice, but he couldn't focus on that. Not when Peter was possibly in danger.

“It's Peter.” Silence, then a swear word.

“What happened? Is he injured? Should I come?” Relief coursed through Tony because if he was worried about Peter, it meant he remembered Titan and the fallout. He had his memory restored. They would certainly celebrate that later, but first he had to locate Peter.

“The kid found out about a break-in at Stark Industries and I guess tried to stop whoever it was. According to Pepper, he hasn't been seen or heard from since.” Tony jumped into his car and connected his phone to the Bluetooth, peeling out of the garage and towards the tower. 

“I'll be there.” Tony went to tell him maybe it would be better if he stayed at the sanctum, in case Peter popped up there (but really because he didn't want Stephen to be in danger), but the call disconnected. He swore and pressed on the gas as hard as he dared. No cop would stop him, probably, but it would be stupid to drive recklessly and get into an accident.

When he arrived, Happy was already holding the door open and leading him to the elevator. Tony tapped his foot and checked his watch while they waited for the stupid doors to open. He was going to have to figure out a way to make the elevator come faster. 

Pepper was the first to greet him, her usual smile absent, though she looked him up and down and raised a brow.

“You look nice.” Tony blinked and glanced down at his outfit, cheeks warming. It wasn't like he was wearing a three-piece suit or anything, but he knew he looked....better than a meeting with a wizard friend probably called for.

“I, um, had that meeting and-” She rolled her eyes and ushered him into the room, Stephen already pacing and examining a tablet. Tony nearly stumbled over his own feet at the sight of him, looking healthy and exactly like he used to. Wong and the other wizards clearly succeeded in their mission.

Pepper smirked at him before turning to Stephen and motioning to the tablet he was holding.

“That was all the cameras caught.” Stephen hummed, swiping his finger across the screen a few times.

“How could there be a robbery and the only thing the cameras catch is Peter walking in? They must have been disabled by whoever took your technology.” Stephen set the tablet down and looked up at Tony, his eyes clear and exactly how Tony remembered them. He was torn between freaking out over Peter's apparent kidnapping and celebrating Stephen's recovery, his thoughts scrambling all over the place. Thankfully, Pepper was there to keep things on track.

“I thought the same thing and asked FRIDAY to analyze the frequencies and transmissions from the cameras. At one point, around midnight, they are interrupted completely.” She passed the tablet to Tony, who scanned over the findings with a frown.

“How did the alarms not go off? They are programmed to send an alert to FRIDAY when tampered with.” Pepper shook her head and Stephen continued his pacing. This was all Tony's fault.

“I've been meaning to update the security there. I should have already upgraded everything. These damn cameras were all we had and they rely too much on signals and frequencies.” He rubbed his forehead and sighed.

“Now is not the time to place the blame. We need to locate Peter.” Tony nodded and called FRIDAY.

_“Yes, sir?”_

“Has there been any communication or signal from KAREN?” A beat of tense silence.

_“No, sir. When the cameras went out, apparently it also knocked Karen offline, only she has not rebooted.”_ Okay, there went that. He too began pacing, trying to figure out any possible way they could find the kid. Stephen suddenly had a book in his hands and was studying something.

“Whatcha got, Merlin?” Stephen closed the book and it vanished before Tony's eyes. Cheeky magical bastard.

“Do you have hair from him or a close relative?” Tony frowned.

“Why would I have that lying around?” Stephen rolled his eyes.

“Like in a brush? Maybe a hat? One of his Spider-Man masks?” Tony held up a finger and hurried to the lab Peter often worked in alongside Tony and Bruce. He found the abandoned hat he wore one time and checked inside for any hair. A strand caught in the Velcro pushed him to hurry back to the conference room. Stephen took the hat and carefully removed the hair. With flashing magic energy and a few mumbled words, Stephen had a portal open. Tony peered through and furrowed his brows.

“Ladies first.” Tony whipped around and found humor glimmering in Stephen's eyes, and small smile to his mouth. Flustered, he stomped through the portal and into the dark dank room. It was cool, the walls made of damp concrete. Possibly underground. Like a basement. Stephen followed close behind and shut the portal, throwing them further into darkness. Tony activated his new suit update, the cool endo-sym armor washing over his skin and humming to life. He left his face uncovered.

“New suit?” Tony turned and grinned at Stephen, quite proud of the new development. 

“Yep. You like it?” Stephen snorted and led them down the hallway, a glowing orb of some kind levitating in his hand. He was going to take that response as a yes.

“How much do you think they're really going to come looking for you, huh? Risked your life and the great Tony Stark doesn't even care!” The voices were loud and close. Stephen darted forward and peered around a corner, Tony close behind him. They had to be talking to Peter.

“He'll be here.” Laughter had Tony's blood on fire, but Stephen stopped him before he could charge around the corner and blast them out of their miserable existence.

“Look, we can't just go charging in there, Stark. It's dangerous.” Tony snorted.

“Um, we're Iron Man and _Doctor Freaking Strange_. Why _can't_ we?” Stephen gestured to where the talking and laughter were coming from.

“Because we don't know who's in there; how many there are. As much fun as it is running blindly into danger with no thought to our safety, Peter is also in there. We can't risk anything happening to him. We need to get a closer look...” He studied Tony's suit and scratched his chin.

“That wouldn't happen to have a stealth mode on it, would it?” Tony grinned and activated the recently added stealth mode. Stephen nodded and then he began to disappear.

_” We're going to have to communicate telepathically now. Talking will give us away, and we can't see each other anyway.”_ Tony nearly screamed as the doctor's voice slid between his own thoughts. He opened his mouth to speak before remembering the fact he couldn't see where the doctor went.

_”You almost gave me a heart attack, doc. I have a weak heart!”_ He crept into the room and scanned it. His visor identified at least six or seven faces, and then Peter was found and Tony wanted to unleash his laser toy he absolutely adored. 

_” Not yet, Tony. I've also counted seven. We need to do this carefully. I'm going to cause a distraction; you go for the kid. Once he's safe, then we can take care of these guys.”_ Seemed like a solid plan, so he waited for something to happen. What kind of magic illusion would Stephen create to draw them away so he could get to Peter? 

To his surprise, Stephen dropped down on the table, fully visible, looking powerful and majestic as fuck towering above the people spread out on the couches and floor. His eyes began to glow while he moved his hands and his cape billowed menacingly behind him. Honestly, Tony might have been scared to go at him. And maybe that little display had him uncomfortable in a certain place. Not that he could really focus on that when Peter was behind all the action, grinning up at Stephen.

One of the guys stood up and aimed his gun at Stephen. With a wave of Stephen's hand, the gun turned into a snake and attacked the man.

“Witch!” The men scrambled to their feet and bolted for the door. Stephen levitated after them, and once they were gone, Tony deactivated the stealth mode and hurried for Peter, who was watching after Stephen with wide eyes. When Tony neared him, the boy's attention snapped to him and he was crying.

“Hi, Mister Stark!” The ropes binding him wouldn't budge, and when he tried to slice through them, they glowed red and refused to cut. What the-

“Didn't anyone ever tell you to take a second look around?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is curious, the new armor Tony is wearing is the Superior Iron Man suit. I really love that suit!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for some...trauma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have returned to finish out this story! Thank you for being patient with me. I hope this will be worth the wait!

Tony whipped around, repulsor gun out and charged, to face a man in what looked like a gas mask and with glowing red hands. How they managed to miss an evil magic man when Stephen could supposedly sense magic energy and Tony's sensors should have tipped him off dumbfounded him. The evil witch man strode forward, Tony finding himself slammed into a wall and unable to move. A gloved hand reached out and cupped Peter's face, the boy struggling to escape the touch. Tony seethed, but no matter what he tried, he couldn't break free.

Screams cut off from somewhere in the warehouse and then Stephen was storming into the room, eyes narrowed on the magic guy petting Peter's head and seemingly staring at Tony. Like he was mocking him. Like he wanted to make Tony explode. Stephen shot thick red bands out of his hands (well, Tony knew it was a spell, but it still looked like it came directly from Stephen) and wrapped the guy up, Tony's elation only lasting a moment before Red broke free and turned on Stephen. 

“Ah. Sorcerer Supreme. We finally meet. And all it took was threatening a man who wears a flying tin can and his insect son.” Stephen's steps became slow, measured, the wizard watching Red with narrowed eyes and a tilt to his head.

“So we do, though I haven't the faintest idea who you are.” Red laughed, the sound like nails on a chalkboard, and pulled off his mask to reveal-

“Wanda?!” But that didn't seem right. The body was taller than the little Sokovian witch who lived at the Compound. 

“In the flesh.” Tony struggled again, unable to take his eyes away from her. Wanda was the subject of many of his nightmares, ever since she manipulated his mind and turned him into a far more paranoid person than he was already. And that was saying something. She absolutely _terrified_ him, and now it seemed like everything he feared about her was coming true. She was facing off with Stephen, someone he loved and only just got back after nearly a year of being around a virtual stranger, and Peter was in danger.

And there was nothing Tony could do. He was in a sleek new suit with state-of-the-art technology and unable to do a damn thing against her magic. Stupid magic.

“Wanna see something really fun, Doctor?” Stephen stopped moving, Tony realizing he was trying to get between Wanda and Peter without her really noticing. Warmth radiated from his heart despite the terror clutching his chest. Stephen cared for Peter much like Tony did, and he seemed to be instinctively trying to protect him from the mad witch.

Wanda smirked right at Tony before charging forward and wrapping her hands around Stephen's throat. The two crashed to the ground, Wanda's suit seemingly too much for Stephen to escape from. Peter shouted and struggled in his chair, the ropes glowing again and Tony could see now they were burning the boy. No. No. No. _No_!

Stephen spit out something in a foreign language, but Wanda merely laughed and Tony watched in frozen horror as she crushed those delicate hands. The bloodcurdling scream, the cracking of bones and metal pins, the malicious slash of red lips...Tony tried to curl inside himself, to get away from the scene before him. Peter was shrieking unintelligible words now and crying, Stephen was abandoned on the ground, blood pooling around his body, and Tony was ready to break every bone in his body to escape so he could kill that witch. He always knew she couldn't be trusted, and now she was showing her true colors. 

“Look at you now, Iron Man. Look at what you have caused. You continue to let those around you die and then you just selfishly keep on living! Parading around as a hero when we both know you're anything but!” She tipped Peter's chair back and gazed down at him. No...

“Peter, say goodbye to the man who did this to you. The man who promised to protect you and failed miserably. The man who couldn't even get the idiotic Avengers to listen to him. The man who has more blood on his hands than I ever could.” Tony fought harder, screaming at her, at Peter, at Stephen's lifeless body. He screamed as she picked Peter up by the throat, her hands glowing red, and then dropped him and the chair on the floor with a thud. The boy didn't move.

“Wanda...why would you do this? I- We gave you protection. Stephen- He helped you with your magic. You have a home with the Avengers!” Red lips smiled and she rolled her eyes.

“Isn't it obvious? Do you think I could honestly forgive you for what you and your company did to my people? To my _brother_?! I have always hated you, Stark, and now I have offered you a glimpse at what you did to me. Now you have to live with their deaths on your conscious.” He dropped to the ground, but before he could raise a hand to shoot the life out of her, she was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, bit of a cliffhanger, and all kinds of screwed up for poor Tony.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A happy ending for our boys. :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a little bittersweet coming to the end. But this has been a fun ride, and I'm happy with what I've come up with. I hope everyone enjoyed it!

“Enjoy the show, Stark?” He blinked away tears, confusion bubbling up as he found himself staring back at Wanda, Stephen, and Peter. Stephen was paler than usual, but otherwise they were okay. They were alive. Wanda-

That _bitch_.

“You did that mind magic thing again.” It was as if him speaking broke a spell in the room, Stephen lunging at Wanda and somehow slamming her against the wall even with his hands the way they were. The witch seemed surprised, gasping and struggling in his hands. Then she was quiet, slumping in his hold. He carefully set her on the floor and turned away, his face darker than Tony ever saw it before. Peter was released from his bindings, the angry red burns soothed quickly by Stephen's magic. With Wanda knocked out, or dead, her magic released Tony from the wall. He collapsed onto the ground and laid there for a moment, just until the adrenaline and rush of emotions wore off. 

“Tony? Are you okay? Can you hear me?” Stephen was there, kneeling next to him and brushing hair out of his face. Was he? After a brief mental accession, he found that physically he was fine. No injuries aside from scrapes or bruises that came with fighting in a metal suit. He couldn't really speak for mentally or emotionally at the moment, but it was nice to have Stephen there. The wizard glanced down and then his brows furrowed. Tony looked down as well and found his hand gripping Stephen's arm tightly. 

“We need to get you to a hospital. Peter! Finish webbing up those guys and help me get Tony out of here. Tony? Can you retract the suit?” Hands were scrabbling against the smooth armor, but there was no button or anything. This suit was different- special. He could call it off with his mind if he wanted to. Which he did, if it got that look off Stephen's face.

“Your technology never ceases to amaze me. And this means you can at least hear me. You ready, Peter?” Tony struggled to see the boy, desperate to make sure he was indeed moving around and alive, but Stephen pushed him back down. Then he disappeared and was replaced by Peter's sparkling brown eyes and hesitant smile. Relief washed over him, the hand gripping Stephen's arm setting the wizard free to touch Peter's face. Orange light suddenly invaded Peter's features, casting the rest of him in shadow. Then Tony was being hoisted up and against someone, the glow of the portal passing over them like lights in a tunnel and then there were bright lights and the smell of disinfectant. 

“This way. Christine!” A door opened and voices crowded around him. He blinked a few times and wriggled in the grip holding him, trying to will away the fog of magic clinging to his brain. The haunting images Wanda showed him flashed randomly, as if taunting him, and he flinched away from the sight of Peter's lifeless eyes staring up at him.

“It's okay, Mister Stark. Doctor Strange and Doctor Palmer are going to get you better.” 

It took far too long for him to lose the influence of Wanda's magic, Stephen and Wong both working with him until it was finally gone. When Tony revealed Wanda performed that same trick on him before, Wong made a sound of understanding and Stephen pushed back the curled hair hanging down near Tony's eyes with a long sigh. Peter had to leave after dropping him off, though he returned every day after school to tell Tony about his day and what he and Stephen eventually did with the goons who kidnapped Peter.

It turned out the Wanda who attacked them wasn't the same Wanda living in the compound. Stephen explained that sometimes rifts happened between dimensions, little tears that allowed people from another dimension to slip through. In this case, Wanda was from an Earth where she decided to kill Tony and his family rather than join the Avengers. She was also older than the teen they knew. Stephen said he sent her back and patched up the tear in the dimension himself.

Since nothing was physically wrong with Tony, he was discharged with firm instructions to take it easy for a few days. Emotional and mental trauma could sometimes be worse on someone than physical, and he should stay with someone who could help him should he have any nightmares or panic attacks. Tony, far too used to both of those, brushed off the doctor's advice and demanded to be allowed to go back to work. He never let trauma get in the way of his work before, and he was not about to stop today.

Stephen, however, didn't seem to like that. He showed up randomly throughout the day, asking if Tony was eating like he should, how his sleep was, were there any lingering effects of the Mind Stone's power. His concern warmed Tony through, but it really wasn't necessary. Which he explained to Stephen every single visit. The doctor ignored him and examined him with glowing fingers.

 

“It seems her magic is indeed eradicated from your system. I have to say it was rather attached to you, Tony. Funny that magic would be drawn to a man of machine.” Stephen pulled back from the examination, his face carefully blank as he flicked through some papers in a file he apparently made for Tony. It seemed no matter how Tony tried, the doctor side of him refused to quit. As for his observation, well, it made sense he would say so. Magic and the mechanical were often opposing sides; the weakness of the other.

That was kind of fitting when it came to Tony Stark and Stephen Strange. At least in Tony's case.

“What can I say? My charm transcends logic. The laws of nature.” That cracked Stephen's mask, a smile spreading and warmth returning to tired blue-green eyes. It was nice to see that smile again, and not because the wizard was without the memories of his past. Of the horrible things he had to go through to become the Sorcerer Supreme.

Well, the return of said memories certainly sucked, but it was nice to have Stephen back anyway.

“Hey, so, I never did get to check in with you about the whole...memory thing. How did it go?” Stephen pulled a chair up to the table Tony was sitting on, fiddling with a fidgeting device Tony made when he needed to think. Stephen's fingers slipped across the surface a few times before he could twist the mechanism properly. Tony wished he had a Time Stone of his own so he could return Stephen's treasured hands. 

“Oh. It went well. Wong said being Sorcerer Supreme helped a lot in recovering the rest of my memories. Magic is powerful, and I happen to hold quite a bit of that power in my body. So a little memory swipe was no big thing for me. Being a stubborn asshole certainly didn't hurt.” Eyes flicked up to meet his. “You were a bit motivation of mine, actually. When I saw you that day, in Kamar-Taj, I recognized you beyond you being an Avenger. I just didn't know _why_. Needing to know who you are and why I felt like you being there made perfect sense, even though to my mind it didn't, pushed me to find my remaining memories. They came back little at a time, sometimes without me realizing. Thank the Vishanti for Wong, really. He was able to help me see I was indeed making progress. Otherwise, I would have went crazy.” 

“Glad I could be a little help getting you back, Dumbledor. We need you, you know. Big Sorcerer Supreme and all.” He kicked his legs for a few seconds, hesitating on the next question he had, and then exhaled slowly. “What all do you remember from... before Kamar-Taj? Or...do you remember anything? I don't know how it works. Memory and magic.” Stephen set the device down and leaned back in his chair to study Tony's face.

“Wong told me during the time my memories were stolen, I worked in a veterinarian's office. I helped animals. I do remember that, actually, but I needed him to tell me it actually happened because sometimes memories can feel like really vivid dreams. Plus, with my use of the Time Stone on Titan, I confuse the timelines I saw there with reality.” Well, that was....Tony wasn't sure if he was happy Stephen remembered or if he was embarrassed. 

Wong told him, back when they were first fighting to get Stephen back to normal, that he needed to ask Stephen out once things were settled. That the wizard did in fact have feelings for him. If Stephen remembered Tony's horrendous flirting and their sort-of coffee date....gosh, that was not the impression Tony wanted to have on Stephen when venturing into the realm of dating. 

Then again, him remembering may make it easier to make the leap. Who knew trying to date a wizard was so hard?

“Anything else you remember?” To his surprise, red colored the wizard's cheeks and he was back to fiddling with the thing on Tony's table.

“I....I remember you bringing Peter's poor dog into the clinic. How crestfallen you seemed when I didn't recognize you at first...” Tony sighed and leaned back on his hands, watching Stephen handle the device for a few seconds before kicking it out if his hands with his socked feet. Stephen glared at him.

“Well, you have to realize I'd been trying to reach you for a few days. Honestly, I can't remember why now, but it was important. Wong was worried too. And then we find you...and you have no idea who I am aside from someone you saw on the news. Which, by the way, not the prettiest picture of me.” The wizard chuckled and shrugged.

“I know you beyond that. Still not that pretty.” It was nice, getting to tease and banter again. Tony missed this more than anything. Maybe they didn't need to cross the line; maybe they could be happy with this. Their easy friendship. Tony laid back on the table with a groan.

“You wound me, Stranger. I put a lot of effort into looking spectacular for late-night tinkering, you know.” Silence hung between them for a moment, not at all oppressive, and then Stephen cleared his throat.

“I wanted to thank you for- Well, Wong told me he made you take veterinarian me on a date or whatever. I'm sure it wasn't what you wanted to be doing, but I wanted to thank you for doing that. For helping Wong get me back. And I'm sorry if that... If things are weird for you now.” Tony rolled onto his side and propped himself on his elbow, meeting Stephen's eyes. His gaze was unwavering, apologetic, and patiently scanning Tony's face. Waiting for Tony to say something.

“I can't believe you have to keep that memory. I swear I'm better at flirting than that. I've been known to melt the coldest of hearts, you know.” Stephen spluttered out a laugh, shaking his head and dropping his chin.

“I don't remember being disappointed.” Sucking in a rush of air, Tony sat all the way up. He needed Stephen to see he was one hundred percent serious and telling the truth about what he was going to say next. He didn't want anything mixed up or for Stephen to brush it off as Tony being a good friend.

“I wasn't either, Strange. Fact of the matter is, there wasn't some massive sacrifice made on my part. I felt almost selfish, actually, because I liked getting to take you out for coffee; even if it wasn't really you. I mean, you didn't even complain about the prices, or argue with me over the bill.” Stephen snorted.

“Like I was going to fight a billionaire over a tab. Memories or not, I'm no idiot.” He shuffled his feet. “Wong told me you didn't want to do it, though. He said you had reservations about luring me back to the Sanctum for the examination he needed to do. You don't have to try to make me feel better about my ridiculous crush on you. Gosh, that's so humiliating.” 

“Are you admitting you had a crush on me before you knew me? Doctor Strange, I'm flattered. Especially when you have a face as pretty as that.” Stephen grunted, kicking his thigh with his leather boot. If he could get Stephen to admit it outright, to prove Wong right, Tony could then admit he felt the same and wouldn't mind dating him for real. Memories and all.

But, well, Stephen had to go first. Especially because Tony was dancing along the line of flirting at the moment, and Stephen was giving nothing back.

“I never said that, douchebag. But I can't pretend you didn't meet the me who didn't know you like I now do and, well, yes. I may have thought you were....appealing. When I was younger.” Tony arched a brow. “Okay, more than appealing. No sense trying to deny it when you and Wong saw it with your own two eyes.”

“Well, Doc. Can't say I'm surprised. I _am_ Tony Stark. Former CEO of Stark Industries and hero heartthrob.” Stephen hummed. 

“Let's not forget oh so modest and humble. A true beacon of hope for humanity and an example to children everywhere.” He was ready to burst. To lay a searing kiss on that smirk. Honestly, it was like Stephen knew all the right buttons to push. And he was pushing them on purpose. 

“I like you too, asshole. Let the record show I was the one who said it first.” Stephen's eyes widened and he stiffened in his seat. Not the...usual reaction he got when he told someone he liked them, but it was a hell of a year for Stephen.

“Wait- That's not...really?” Tony rolled his eyes and hopped off the table, moving to stand over Stephen's stricken features. Gosh, he was so pretty. So infuriating. Perfect for Tony.

“Uh, yeah. Really. The whole high school, doodle our names together during meetings, wanna kiss you in the rain thing. I was just afraid you weren't interested like that. I didn't want to scare you away.” It was like he flipped a secret switch, or said the secret code word. The change in Stephen's posture was instant. He looked nearly ready to cry.

“Oh thank the Vishanti! I was so scared you were going to tell me to go to hell or whatever. But that is so much better. Wow.” He paused, brows scrunching. “Damn. I owe Wong thirty dollars.”

“Hey, so, remember that evil Scarlet Witch?” He wasn't sure why he brought it up, why he was even thinking of that when he just told Stephen he was attracted to him and more than willing to have more dates – real dates where they knew each other – but it was too late to take it back. Stephen narrowed his eyes and nodded. 

“I do. I nearly killed her. I took an oath as a doctor to do no harm, and I still honor that oath now. But what she did- I was ready to rip her apart.” He remembered vividly the hatred in Stephen's eyes, the shadow that passed so slowly. It was a little terrifying, but now he was certain it was because of his feelings for Tony.

“Did she do a vision mind trick on you too?” He didn't want to imagine what horrors she showed Stephen; what fears Stephen kept tucked away deep inside himself. Tony hoped one day he got to see in that dark chest and help Stephen through them. Just like he knew Stephen would want to know about the nightmares that haunted Tony through the night.

All in due time.

“No. It was your reaction to the one she showed you. Peter was trembling at the absolute terror in your voice. The way you screamed our names; the desperation as you pleaded with whoever – I assume it was her – to explain whatever happened... It was enough to make me snap. And now you know why.” Tony smiled and reached out to brush his fingers over Stephen's hands, marveling at the scars and tremors. Hands that have protected the universe and Tony countless times.

“Yeah. I do. I'm sorry it took you losing your memory for me to ask you out.” Stephen chuckled, turning his hand over and lacing their fingers together. That felt nice.

“Well, my memories are restored and I would love to have coffee with you again. Maybe we can take a stroll afterwards through the village. It's beautiful this time of year.” Tony was certain it was, but he was also certain he wouldn't be paying attention to the scenery. 

“Sounds perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! <3


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